Category Archives: Indie Authors

It admittedly scares me when an author approaches me and says, “I need help with marketing my book.” Okay, that alone doesn’t scare me and in fact, thrills me however, read further. “When is your book due for release?” I ask. “Oh it’s already been released.” he or she says. “Congrats!” I say, “What types of marketing have you been doing so far?” “Well,” he or she says, “Nothing yet and I’m getting irritated and discouraged because I have no sales.”

This is a prime example as to why you should start marketing your book….yesterday. As I’ve said before, you should begin marketing your book BEFORE the release. If you don’t believe me, maybe you will believe Jonathan Gunson, Author and CEO of Bestseller Labs. His article, “The Single Most Effective Book Marketing Strategy An Author Can Use,” offers some excellent advice (http://bestsellerlabs.com/the-most-effective-book-marketing-strategy/):

How can you get a ‘rave’ response when you launch your next book?

Start Marketing Your Book Long Before It Appears On The Stage

The day your book launches is way too late to start your marketing program. Ideally your ‘theater’ needs to be filled with an eagerly waiting crowd, long before your book fronts the footlights. But for first time authors this can quite rightly seem to be an impossible stretch.

Most authors dream of hitting a home run, as Colleen Hoover did earlier this year with her novel Hopeless. But the reality is this does not happen for the vast majority of writers, and so promotional activity needs to begin well in advance.

For example, Tim Ferris started marketing three years before he launched The 4 Hour Work Week by collecting bloggers, media and supporters, and stayed in touch with them right through.

Rebecca Skloot also began building her audience several years before launching her book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Is it Too Late To Start?

If you did leave marketing your book until after launch, don’t worry – all is not lost. It simply means that it’ll take longer. And if it’s an eBook, you still have plenty of time to successfully market your book, because on Amazon, your book lasts forever, giving it time to find its audience. But do start today if you haven’t already.

The fact is, for the initial book in your series, you may not entirely ‘fill the theater’ prior to launch. But by the time your third book in your series comes around, you’ll not only have a fan base, but be well versed in all the theatrical tactics around launching a book.

This has also been my personal experience. I took a very long road and found out the hard way. But after taking many wrong turns, I finally got there, love every minute of it now, and am happy to share what I’ve discovered.

Don’t Plan To Be ‘In Store’, Plan To Be READ

For a moment, picture the dream of the aspiring author: A newly published novel on the bookstore shelves:

But… where is it? The reality is that the thrill of seeing your book ‘live’ in a store wears off very quickly.

Publishing is merely the beginning. What you really need is your books being read, because if your books have appeal, readers will want to spread the word. Your fans are ‘reader evangelists’ who’ll carry the flame for your books and drive the most powerful form of promotion – viral, word-of-mouth recommendation.

Your task therefore is to ignite the viral flame using your author platform, which includes interaction with readers on social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook.

You’re A Rock Star To Your Readers, So Connect With Them

Readers have given you their commitment, you owe them yours.

So take time to communicate with them and reply if they ask questions or send praise. Why? Because if you keep on producing titles, and maintain contact, your readers will become your fans and ‘Word Of Mouth’ promoters for life.

Your fans value the fruits of your imagination far more than you may ever know. From your very first book, readers become invested in you. If your books are well written and have appeal, they’ll buy everything you write and feel they ‘own’ you. You certainly owe them your allegiance, because they’ve given you theirs.

Aim your communications at them, connect with them, and keep the fans you’ve already made constantly fascinated, engaged, and crowding into the ‘theater’ at the launch of your next book.

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great, productive weekend. I must admit that mine wasn’t spent writing. It was in fact, a “handyman” type of weekend. I installed a new kitchen faucet, worked on my truck and well yeah, I did admittedly have fun as well. I suppose I was ashamed to admit that I didn’t get any writing done but hey, the things I DID accomplish can give some great writing ideas. Right?

So I have found a workshop that appears to look pretty good. It’s with Writers Digest. I do have to admit that I have personally never taken any of their workshops but have heard from others that they are pretty good.

This one is taking place this Thursday, so I wanted to get word out there. Here’s what you’ll learn:

Good morning, friends and a hearty TGIF to you all! I hope you all have some awesome weekend plans lying ahead of you, even if it’s absolutely nothing. Sometimes I find those are the most enjoyable.

So….if you have read my blog for any length of time you know that I always post the, “Indie Author of the Week” or “Indie Book of the Week” on Fridays. Well, today I’m posting a book that I think you, as an indie author might enjoy.

We’ve all heard of indie authors and if you are like me, you consider yourself one (doesn’t matter whether you are published at this point or not). I’m also fairly certain that you are curious as to what helps to make indie authors successful, no matter your definition of success. Here’s something that you should buy:

Learn how to succeed in indie publishing.

With interviews from 34 of the hottest names in self-publishing, “Interviews with Indie Authors” contains a unique view into the world of the indie writer. Each bestselling self-published author shares how they ensure their books are a hit, and what led them to indie publishing in the first place. You will also find out what they think the future of self-publishing will bring. Their first hand experience is invaluable for anyone planning to succeed with their own books.

Whatever your background, you will learn from these incredible interviews.

With diverse genres such as thrillers, young adult fiction, the paranormal, romance, comedy, fantasy, horror, science fiction, mystery and even non-fiction, whatever you are writing about, this book has it covered.